Yeah, the old stuff was just 'action skating' by comparison. There looked to be some competitive aspects in a few of the women's bouts, but it really left a lot wide open for interpretation and style and rules and it seemed like they also thought "hey, let's distract the people with some skating between staged fights!" in style. I recall RCRG having a couple 'fights' in their early days - back when they were a young league and the crowd roared, and they were all still learning how to skate, by comparison. It was all in good fun, and I think it stopped after it was time to get serious, and there was momentum behind the league. It's fascinating for me to watch them in the old days (hint: Blood on the flat track is available from NetFlix Feb 23rd... if you only rent one movie this year....) and see them progress to a very serious and well skilled unit that shows the other leagues how it's done, but lets them slither away from their loss with dignity. I marvel at how well the veteran skaters move when I see the lesser experienced leagues, or even the Fresh Meat coming into Rat City - when I watched their bout in Lynnwood last year, and the Fresh Meat (new recruits) skated at halftime, it all became clear at the amazing difference.